Mail sorting device



Dec. 21, 1954 w, STAHL MAIL SORTING DEVICE 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July3, 1952 FIG 1.2.

IN V EN TOR.

m 3% T s W w L 4 W Dec. 21, 1954 w STAHL MAIL SORTING DEVICE 6Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 5, 1952 1954 w. A. STAHL MAIL SORTING DEVICE 6Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 3, 1952 FIG. 35..

INVENTOR. 61/447542 A $74.41.,

ATTOZNEYS Dec. 21, 1954 w STAHL MAIL SORTING DEVICE 6 Sheets-Sheet 4Filed July 3, 1952 IN V EN TOR.. W44 TEe .4. s 7441.,

6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed July 3, 1952 FIG. 8.

7 y 3 6 6 Q 3 4 M w MW 6. m F m 5 M INVENTOR.

WALTEE A. STA/-14,

ATTOEA/EYS.

MAIL SORTIN G DEVICE Walter A. Stahl, Cleveland, Ohio Application July3, 1952, Serial No. 297,105 Claims. (Cl. 209-72) This invention relatesto a device for sorting objects in accordance with predeterminedclassifications thereof and more particularly to a device for sortingmailing envelopes in accordance with their destinations.

It is among the objects of the invention to provide a device which isoperative with special envelopes to rapidly and automatically sort theenvelopes into groups according to their destination;*which can be usedto sort various objects, such as envelopes, cards and documents inaccordance with a code provided on the objects; which can be operated bya single operator and will place the sorted objects into suitablereceptacles, such as mail bags; which occupies a small amount of spacein proportion to the amount of work accomplished; and which is simpleand durable in construction, economical to manufacture, easy to use, andpositive and effective in operation.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from a considerationof the following description and the appended claims in conjunction withthe accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a sorting deviceillustrative of the invention;

Figures 2, 2a and 2b constitute a longitudinal cross sectional view ofthe device on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figures 3, 3a and 3b together constitute a longitudinal cross sectionalview of the device on the line 3-3 of Figure l; v

Figure 4 is a transverse cross sectional view on the line 4-4 of Figure3b;

Figure 5 is a transverse cross sectional view on the line 55 of Figure3a;

Figure 6 is a transverse cross sectional view on the line 66 of Figure3a;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary cross sectional view on an enlarged scale onthe line 7-7 of Figure 3a but with the parts in a somewhat differentoperative position from that illustrated in Figure 3a;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary cross sectional view on an enlarged scale onthe line 8-8 of Figure 3a;

Figure 9 is a fragmentary cross sectional view on an enlarged scale onthe line 9-9 of Figure 2a;

Figure 10 is a perspective view of a special envelope used in thesorting device; and

Figure 11 is an electric wiring diagram of the device.

With continued reference to the drawings, the device includes anelongated, hollow housing of rectangular cross sectional shape,generally indicated at 10, and including a top wall 11, a bottom wall 12spaced from and substantially parallel to the top wall 11, a partitionwall 13 disposed substantially midway between and parallel to the topand bottom walls, and side walls 14 and 15 extending along therespectively opposite longitudinal edges of. the top, bottom andpartition walls in spaced apart and substantially parallel relationshipto each other.

The housing also has end walls 16 and 17 and the side wall 15 isprovided at its end adjacent the end wall 16 with an inlet opening 18which also extends into the adjacent portion of the end wall. Thepartition wall 13 provides a bottom wall for the opening 18 and adeflector wall 19 extends inwardly of the housing from the side wall 15at the end of the opening 18 remote from the end wall 16, this deflectorwall being disposed substantially perpendicular to the partition wall 13and inclined from the side wall 15 inwardly of the housing and away fromthe end wall 16.

The side wall 15 is also provided with spaced apart outlet openings ofrectangular shape, as indicated at 20,

States Patent 0 21 and 22 and receptacles, as indicated at 23, 24 and 25are disposed one below each of the outlet openings to receive articlesejected from the housing through these outlet openings. it iscontemplated that when the device is used for sorting mail thereceptacles 23, 24 and 25 will be in the form of frames or hoppershaving open bottoms and supporting mail bags depending therefrom so thatthe sorted mail can be deposited directly into the bags in which it isshipped to its destination.

The end wall 17 is provided with a reject opening 26 therein and areceptacle for this opening may be provided on the housing, if desired.

A belt conveyor mechanism extends longitudinally through the housing 10from the end wall 16 to the end wall 17 and from the inlet opening 18 tothe reject opening 26 past the several outlet openings, as indicated at20, 21 and 22.

While only three outlet openings have been shown in the accompanyingdrawings, it is to be understood that, when the device is used forsorting mail there may be as many as fifty outlet openings, one for eachof the fortyeight States, one for the District of Columbia and oneTerritorial. ln addition to sorting mail for destination by States, thedevice may be used to sort mail for destination to post oflices in aselected area,

The belt conveyor means includes a shaft 27 journaled at its ends in thetop wall and the partition wall of the housing and disposed adjacent theend wall 16, a shaft 28 journaled at its ends in the top wall andpartition wall of the housing at a location spaced from the shaft 27,rollers 30 and 31 on the shafts 2/ and 28 respectively and a flexible,endless belt 32 trained around the rollers 31) and 31, this beltconstituting with the associated rollers and shafts a first beltconveyor section. A belt tightening roller 33 is journaled at itsopposite ends in the top wall 11 and partition wall 13 of the housingadjacent the roller 31 and bears against the side of belt 32 adjacentthe side wall 14 of the housing to maintain the belt in a tightcondition around the rollers 30 and 31.

A shaft 34 is disposed adjacent the shaft 28 and journaled at its upperand lower ends in the top wall and partition wall of the housing and acomplementary shaft 35 is journaled at its upper and lower ends in thetop and partition walls of the housing at a location spacedlongitudinally of the housing from the shaft 34. Rollers 36 and 37 aremounted on the shafts 34 and 35 respectively and a flexible, endlessbelt 38 extends around the rollers 36 and 37 and constitutes with theserollers and the shafts 34 and 35 a second section of the belt conveyorassembly.

Belt tightening rollers 39 and 40 are journaled at their respectiveopposite ends in the top Wall 11 and partition wall 13 of the housing 10one near the shaft 34 and the other at a location spaced from the shaft35, and bear against the side of the belt 38 nearest the side wall 14 ofthe housing to maintain the belt in a tight or taut condition around therollers 36 and 37.

A shaft 41 is journaled at its ends in the top wall and partition wallof the housing at a location near but spaced from the shaft 34 and ashaft 42 is journaled at its opposite ends in the top and partitionwalls of the housing near the end wall 17 of the housing. Rollers 43 and44 are mounted on the shafts 41 and 42 respectively and an endless,flexible belt 45 is trained around the rollers 43 and 44 and togetherwith these rollers and the shafts 41 and 42 constitutes a third sectionof the belt conveyor assembly.

An idler roller 46 is journaled at its upper and lower ends in the topand partition walls of the housing and is positioned between the twosides of the belt 45 at a loca tion near but spaced from the roller 44and a belt tightening roller 47 is journaled at its opposite ends in thetop and partition walls of the housing and bears against the side of thebelt 45 nearest the side wall 14 of the housing at a location spacedbeyond the roller 46 from the roller 44.

A shaft 48 carrying a roller 49 thereon is disposed between two sides ofthe belt 38 at a location spaced from the roller 37 and is journaled inand extends through the top and partition walls 11 and 13 respectivelyof the housing 10. An electric motor 50 is mounted on the bottom wall 12of the housing at a location near the shaft 48 and a speed reductionunit 51 is mounted on one end .of .the motor 50 and includes avertically disposed output shaft 52. A ,spur gear 53 is mounted on theshaft 52 and disposed immediately below the partition a .3 o thc housin.A spur car .54 is mounted on he shaft .48 i. .mcd at b lo h partitionwall 313 nd gear mon :56 and .57 are sp s d in sp ced apart relaiishi toQthc between th gears 3 and 5a. The

arbor 56 h i as subs anti ly on a l ne connecti g e a es of t shafts :52and 4. a d a spurg r 5s 1s m u ted on this arbo 56. An dler gear 59 ismounted n he a gr 5 and ni shc w h the gea s. 53 and 58 nd an idlef r 69simi ar to h car 5.9 is mounted on the arb r .57 an ingshcs wi h the g as 58 an 54. with his rah cmcnt th shaft 48 is dri en a a reduc d speedfromthe motor 50. The upper end of the shaft 48 projects ovs hg ton a l1 f th housi g and carries a belt pulley .61. The upper end of the shaftalso extends e. I1 t p wa 1 o t e ho ing n carri s w spaced apart beltpulleys 62 and 63. The belt pulley 61 is connected to the lower pulley62 on the shaft 35 by a V-belt or similar driving connection 64 so thatthe roller 37 is driven from the rriotor and drives the belt 38.

The shaft 41 also projects above the top wall 11 of the housing andcarries on its upper end a belt pulley 65. The upper pulley 63 on theshaft 35 is connected to the belt pulley 65 by a V-belt or similardriving element 66 so that the belt 45 is also driven from the motor 50.

The shafts 28 and 34 both project above the top wall of the housing andcarry belt pulleys 67 and 68 respectively above the housing top wall andthese pulleys 67 and 68 are connected bya suitable belt 69 so that theconveyor belt 32 is also driven from the motor 50, the belts in thethree belt conveyor sections all being driven in the same direction andat the same speed.

A flat pressure plate is disposed against the side of the belt 32nearest the side wall 15 of the housing and extends along the belt fromthe inner end of the deflector wall 19 to a location spaced from theoutlet opening 20 in the side wall 15. This plate is held in positionagainst h a jac n id; of he bel y pi t l y oun w ing arms 71 and 72 eachpivotally connected at one end to the plate and at its upper end toposts, as indicated at 73 74 extending between and secured at theiropposite ends to thc top and partition walls of the housing. The arrnsare preferably arranged in pairs with an upper and a lower arm pivotallyconnected to each post and to the pressure plate at vertically spacedapart locations on the latter and a corresponding upper and lower armconnected to the post 74 and to the pressure plate at spaced apartlocations thereon. The arms, 71 and 72 are resiliently urged in arotational direction around the posts 73 and 74, to force the pressureplate 70 against the adjacent side of the belt by tension springs 75 and76 each connected at one end to the corresponding arm and at its otherend to the housing.

A guide wall 80 extends from the side of the outlet opening 20: remotefrom. the end wall 16 of the housing inwardly of thehousing and isinclined toward the end wall 16. This guide wall terminates. short ofthe belt 32 and agate 81 in the form of a curved, thin plate ispivotally connected at one end to the inner end of the guide wall 80 andhas its end remote from the guide wall disposed adjacent the nearestside of the belt 32 at a location spaced from the rear end of thepressure plate 70. An electric solenoid 82 is mounted on the partitionwall 13 and connected by a link 83 to the gate 81 so that, when thesolenoid is energized the gate 81 will be swung into contact with theside of the belt 32 nearest the side wall 15 of the housing and will, inthat position, deflect mailing envelopes passing between the belt 32 andthe pressure plate '70al011g the guide wall 80 and out of the housingthrough the outlet opening 20.

Energization of the solenoid 82, is controlled by a pair of spaced apartcontacts 84 and 85 carried by the pressure plate 70 near the rear end ofthis pressureplate and exposed at the side of thepressure plate adjacentthe belt 32.

The mailing envelopes to be sorted by the device are provided withelements of electrically conductive material at selected locationsthereon, as will: be later described in detail, and when such an elementon a; mailing envelope passing along theconveyor assembly between thebelt 32 and the pressure plate 70 bridges the contacts 84 and 85,thesolenoid 82 is energized moving the distal end of the gate 81 intoengagement with the side of the belt 32 nearest the side wall 15 at alocation rearwardly of the rear end of the pressure plate 70 anddeflecting the envelope along the gate and the guide wall 80 through theoutlet opening 20 into the receptacle 23. After leaving the pressureplate 70 the envelope is propelled along the gate 81 and guide wall 80by an ejecting roller 86 disposed adjacent the proximal end of the gate81 and journaled in the top and partition walls of the housing. Thisroller 86 is driven from the motor 50 by means presently to be describedin detail.

A second pressure plate 87 is disposed against the sides of the belts 32and 38 nearest the side wall 15 and extends along these belts from alocation spaced from the rear end of the pressure plate 70 to a locationin advance of the next outlet opening in the side wall 15 of thehousing. Since there will be one pressure plate between the inletopening 18 and the first outlet opening and between each two adjacentoutlet openings, there will be a number of pressure plates equal to thenumber of outlet openings or fifty pressure plates in the case of adevice having fifty outlet openings as indicated above.

The pressure plate 87 is resiliently held against the adjacent side ofthe belts 32 and 38 by pivoted arms 88 and 89 pivotally mounted each atone end on the housing 10 and pivotally connected at its other end tothe pressure plate 87, and tension springs, as indicated at 90 and 91urging the arms to swing in a direction to hold the pressure plateagainst the adjacent sides of the belts 32 and 38.

The pressure plate 87 carries spaced apart contacts 92 and 93 whichcontrol the energization of a solenoid 94 mounted adjacent the outletopening 21 in the housing. A guide wall 95 and pivoted gate is providedadjacent the outlet opening 21 in the same manner as the guide wall 80and gate 81 adjacent the outlet opening 20 and the solenoid 94 isconnected to the gate 96 by a link 97 to move the gate to a position atwhich the gate deflects maihng envelopes from the belt 38 along the gate96 and guide wall 95 through the opening 21 when the solemold isenergized. A pressure plate 97 extends from the gate 96 rearwardly pastthe roller 37 and is held against the belt 38 by pivoted arms 98 and 99and tension springs 100 and 101 in the manner described above. Apressure plate 102 extends along the belt 45 from a location spacedrearwardly from the rear end of the plate 97 to a locatron spacedsomewhat forwardly of the outlet opening 22 near the rear end of thehousing and a pressure plate 104 extends from a location adjacent thelast outlet openmg 22 to the reject opening 26 in the end wall 17 of thehousing along the side of the belt 45 nearest the side wall 15 of thehousing.

The pressure plates disposed rearwardly of the pressure plate 97 aremounted on pivoted arms, as indicated at 105, 106, 107 and 108 and areforced against the corresponding belts by tension springs, as indicatedat 109, 110, 111 and 112 connected between the corresponding lcver armsand the housing.

A guide wall 113 is inclined inwardly and forwardly of the housing fromthe rear edge of the outlet opening 22 and a gate 114 is pivotallyconnected at one end to the wall 113 at the inner end of the latter andextends from the wall 113 to the adjacent side of the belt 45. Asolenoid is mounted on the partition wall 13 adjacent the guide wall 113and a link 116 connects the solenoid to the gate 114.

Spaced contacts 118 and 119 are carried by the pressure plate 102 andexposed at the side of this plate adacent the belt 45 for controllingthe energization of the solenoid 115, the solenoid 115 being energizedwhen the contacts 118 and 119 are bridged by an element of electricallyconductive material carried by an envelope passing through the sortingdevice.

An ejecting roller 120 is journaled in the housing and "positionedadjacent the proximal end of the gate 96 and a similar roller 121 isjournaled in the housing adjacent the proximal end of the gate 114. Theshafts of the e ecting rollers 86, 120 and 121 extend below thepartition wall 13, as indicated at 122, 123 and 124 and are provided ontheir lower ends with beveled gears, as in dicated at 125, 126 and 127.A line shaft 128 extends longitudinally of the housing 10 adjacent thebottom wall of the housing and carries beveled gears, as indicated at129, 130 and 131 meshing with the beveled gears 125, 126 and 127, toimpart rotational movement in the same direction and at the same ingrollers 86, 120 and 121.

A second gear 132 is mounted on the motor output shaft 52 below the gear53 and this gear 132 meshes with a gear 133 on the ejecting roller shaft123 to directly drive the ejecting roller 120 and drive the ejectingrollers through the line shaft 128 and beveled gear connections.

The belts 32, 38 and 45 of the main belt conveyor system are mounted onrollers which rotate about substantially vertical axes and this mainbelt conveyor assembly is supplemented in its function of moving mailingenvelopes longitudinally of the housing in a direction away from theinlet opening 18 by a secondary or auxiliary belt conveyor assemblyincluding belts mounted on rollers which rotate about substantiallyhorizontal axes.

In the arrangement illustrated the secondary conveyor system comprisesbelts 135 and 136 disposed in end to end relationship to each other andextending longitudinally of the housing 10. The belt 135 is mounted onrollers 138 and 139 disposed adjacent the vertically disposed rollers 30and 37 respectively. The rollers 138 and 139 are mounted on horizontallydisposed shafts 140 and 141 disposed below the partition wall 13 and thepartition wall 13 is provided in its upper surface with a longitudinallyextending, flat groove 142 which receives the upper part of the belt135. The upper part of the belt 135 is disposed at the lower edges ofthe sides of the belts 32 and 38 nearest the side wall of the housing sothat the bottom edges of mailing envelopes moved along the housing bythe belts 32 and 38 will rest on the upper portion of the belt 135 andthis belt will also assist in moving the envelopes longitudinally of thehousing in a direction away from the end of the housing having the inletopening 18.

An idling roller 143 is disposed between the upper and lower portions ofthe belt 135 intermediate the length of this belt to assist inmaintaining the belt 135 in a tight condition and in proper positionrelative to the walls of the housing.

The belt 136 is mounted on rollers 144 and 145 disposed at the front andrear ends respectively of this belt and the upper portion of the belt136 runs in a groove in the upper surface of the partition wall 13 atthe lower edge of the belt 45.

A belt pulley is provided on the ejector roller shaft 123 and acomplementary belt pulley 147 is provided on the shaft 141 of theauxiliary belt roller 139. A V- belt or similar connector 148 drivinglyconnects the pulley 146 to the pulley 147 so that the belt 135 is drivenby the motor 50 whenever the device is in operation. A belt pulley 149is mounted on the shaft of the roller 144 and a corresponding beltpulley is mounted on the shaft 141 and drivingly connected by a belt 150to the pulley 149 to drive the roller 144 and belt 136 whenever the belt135 is driven.

With the above described arrangement, the main and auxiliary beltconveyor assemblies will move the envelopes or other objects to besorted longitudinally of the housing of the device in a direction awayfrom the end of the housing having the inlet opening therein as theenvelopes or other objects are manually fed into the conveyor systemthrough the inlet opening in the housing and the several gates will beoperated by the associated solenoid, as the solenoids are energized, todeflect the envelopes away from the conveyor system and through theseveral outlet openings in the side wall of the housing in accordancewith a predetermined code provided on the envelopes or other objects tobe sorted.

As illustrated in Figure 10, the envelope particularly arranged for usein the sorting device of the present invention is of elongated,rectangular shape and has code strips 152 and 153 on one side thereofextending one along one end edge and the other along one longitudinaledge of the envelope. Each of the strips 152 and 153 comprises anelongated body of electrically conductive material, such as a wire or astrip of sheet metal or metal foil, disposed adjacent the surface of theenvelope, and a strip of electrically non-conductive material, such aspaper, secured to the envelope and covering the body of electricallyconductive material. The covering strip is divided into a plurality ofconsecutively arranged tabs joined together by perforated portions ofthe strip so that any selected tab can be removed from the correspondingstrip of electrically insulative material to exspeed to the ejectposethe portion of the corresponding body of electrically conductivematerial within the area of the removed tab.

If it were desired to provide as many as fifty tabs to provide one tabfor each of the forty eight States, one for the District of Columbia andone for territorial destinations, there would not be sufiicient roomacross any one edge of the envelope to provide the entire number of tabsand it has therefore been found desirable to arrange the tabs in twostrips disposed one along an end edge and one along a side edge of theenvelope, as described above.

The pairs of contacts carried by the pressure plates such as 70, 87,etc. are arranged at different heights from the partition wall 13 of thehousing, the height of these contact pairs above the partition wallprogressively increasing or decreasing longitudinally of the housing ina direction from the end wall 16 to the end wall 17.

The envelopes to be sorted are first placed in the inlet opening 18 ofthe device with their longitudinal edges horizontally disposed and thestrips 152 and 153 thereon at the sides thereof adjacent the pressureplates. If one of the tabs has been removed from the strip 152 exposingthe portion of the conductor body under this tab, as soon as theenvelope reaches a pair of contacts in line with the tab which has beenremoved these contacts are bridged and the next adjacent solenoid isenergized to operate the corresponding gate and deflect the envelope outof the housing through the adjacent outlet opening. If none of the tabsof the strip 152 has been removed, the envelope will pass by a number ofcontact pairs and associated outlet openings corresponding to the numberof tabs in the strip 152 and is then uprighted to bring the strip 153 toa vertical position and is carried along the conveyor assembly until apair of contacts is bridged by a portion of the conductive body in thestrip 153 exposed by the removal of one of the tabs in this strip. If notab has been removed in either of the strips 152 or 153 the envelopewill be carried to the end of the housing and ejected through the rejectopening 26 in the end wall 17 and will fall into the reject receptacle154.

The belt rollers 37 and 139 are located substantially at the positionalong the housing 10 at which a number of contact pairs corresponding tothe number of tabs in the strip 152 along the end edge of the envelopewill be passed if none of the tabs in this strip have been removed. Atthis location the side walls 14 and 15 are extended upwardly raising therearward portion of the top wall 11 above the forward portion of the topwall so that the rearward portion of the housing will accommodate theenvelopes in upright position, that is, with their longitudinal edgesvertically disposed, the two portions of the top wall being joined by atransverse shoulder 155 in the housing.

Immediately to the rear of the belt roller 37 mechanism is provided forturning the envelopes through approximately ninety degrees from theirhorizontally disposed to their vertically disposed position and thismechanism includes a shaft extending transversely of the housingimmediately above an opening 161 in the partition wall 13 and journaledat its ends in bearings 162 and 163 mounted on the partition wall 13.

A flat clamp plate 164 projects radially from the shaft 160 and is fixedthereon by a collar 165 formed on the shaft and bearing against theouter side of the clamp plate 164. A movable clamp plate 166 is slidablymounted on the shaft 160 and projects radially from the shaft insuperposed relationship to the plate 164. A base 167 is mounted on theshaft 160 between the clamp plate 166 and the bearing 162 and a solenoid168 is mounted on this base and has its armature connected to the plate166 at the outer side of the latter. Guide pins 169 extend from the base167 through apertures in the plate 166 to maintain the plate 166 inalignment with the opposed plate 164.

When the solenoid 168 is energized it forces the clamp plate 166 towardthe clamp plate 164 to engage an envelope between the two clamp plates,the plate 166 having detents 170 on its inner side for firmly engagingthe envelopes, and when the solenoid is deenergized the plate 166 ismoved away from the plate 164 to release an envelope clamped between theplates by a compression spring 171 acting between the solenoid armature172 and housing 173.

An arm 174 projects from the shaft 160 adjacent the bearing 163 and asolenoid 175 mounted on the partition wall 13 of the housing has itsarmature 176 pivotally connected at one end to the arm 174 at the distalend of the arm.

A substantially rigid contact bar 178 is carried by the base 167substantially in alignment with the rearward ends of the clamp plates164 and 166 and a spring contact bar 179 is carried by the base 167immediately ahead of the bar 178. When the clamp plates 164 and 166 arein their horizontal position and an envelope is forced by the conveyorbelt mechanism between these clamp plates and into engagement with thespring contact bar 179, the bar 179 is moved into engagement with acontact on the bar 178 thereby completing energizing circuits for thesolenoids 168 and 175. As soon as the solenoid 168 is energized it movesthe clamp plate 166 toward the fixed clamp 164 to clamp an envelopebetween these clamp plates. As soon as the solenoid 175 is energized itrotates the shaft 162 to an angle of approximately ninety degreesbringing the clamp plates 164 and 166 from a horizontal to a verticalposition. As the clamp plates are brought to a vertical position thespring contact bar 179 engages the upper part of the belt 136 and ismoved away from the contact bar 178 thereby breaking the solenoidenergizing circuit. As soon as this circuit is broken a compressionspring 180 acting between the armature 176 and the housing 181 of thesolenoid 175 rotates the shaft 160 back through an angle ofapproximately ninety degrees to return the clamp plates 164 and 166 totheir horizontal position and, at the same time, the spring 171 movesthe movable plate 166 away from the fixed clamp plate 164 to release theenvelope from between the two clamp plates. The spring 171 acts in timeto leave the envelope in upright position on the belt 136 and engagedbetween the belt 45 and the pressure plate 102 so that the envelope willbe carried rearwardly of the housing in upright position and the clampplates will be positioned to receive and upright the next envelopereaching the uprighting mechanism.

The tabs provided by the perforated strips of electricallynon-conductive material on the envelopes will carry indicia denoting theseveral States, District and Territorial destinations and in order toprepare an envelope for sorting it is necessary merely to remove the tabcarrying designation of the desired State, District or Territorialdestination. The envelopes, each with a single tab removed, are then fedinto the front or intake end of the sorting device through the inletopening 18, one at a time, and, as they are moved rearwardly of themachine by the belt conveyor assemblies, they are ejected selectivelythrough the several outlet openings and into the correspondingreceptacles in accordance with the location of the tabs removedtherefrom. A large number of objects, such as mailing envelopes, canthus be automatically sorted by the sorting device in a short time andgrouped in accordance with a code designation carried by the objects.

The motor 50 is controlled by a manually operated reversing switch 185mounted on the side wall 15 of the housing at a location withinconvenient reach of an operator feeding envelopes into the housingthrough the inlet opening 18. This switch 185 can be closed by theoperator in one position so that the motor will turn in a direction todrive the belt conveyor assemblies rearwardly of the housing and theswitch can be changed to reverse the motor and drive the belt conveyorassemblies in the opposite direction to return the envelopes back to theinlet opening in the event the conveyor assemblies should become jammedor an envelope should fail to pass through the device.

The invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departingfrom the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The presentembodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects asillustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention beingindicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoingdescription, and all changes which come within the meaning and range ofequivalency of the claims are, therefore, intended to be embracedtherein.

What is claimed is:

l. A device for sorting articles in accordance with a predetermined codeindication provided on the articles comprising an elongated housinghaving a top wall, a bottom wall, a partition wall between said top andbottom walls, and side walls extending along the longitudinal edges ofsaid top, bottom and partition walls, one of said side walls having aninlet opening at one end thereof and outlet openings spaced apartlongitudinally thereof, belt conveyor means extending longitudinally ofsaid housing between said top and said partition walls and includingbelt rollers journaled in said top and partition walls at spaced apartlocations along said housing, flexible endless belts trained around saidrollers and disposed in end to end relationship to each other, pressureplates disposed one between each two adjacent openings in said one sidewall and against the sides of said belts adjacent said one side wall,spring means resiliently urging said pressure plates against said belts,power means disposed in said housing between said partition wall andsaid bottom wall and drivingly connected to said belt rollers fordriving said belts, movable gates disposed in said housing one betweeneach of said outlet openings and said belts for selectively deflectingobjects from said conveyor means through said outlet openings, andelectrically actuated means carried partly by said pressure plates andconnected to said gates for operating the latter in response to codedesignations on objects passing along said conveyor means.

2. A device for sorting articles in accordance with a predetermined codeindication provided on the articles comprising an elongated housinghaving a top wall, a bottom wall, a partition wall between said top andbottom walls, and side walls extending along the longitudinal edges ofsaid top, bottom and partition walls, one of said side walls having aninlet opening at one end thereof and outlet openings spaced apartlongitudinally thereof, main belt conveyor means extendinglongitudinally of said housing between said top and said partition Wallsand including belt rollers journaled in said top and partition walls atspaced apart locations along said housing, flexible endless beltstrained around said rollers and disposed in end to end relationship toeach other, pressure plates disposed one between each two adjacentopenings in said one side wall and against the sides of said beltsadjacent said one side wall, and spring means resiliently urging saidpressure plates against said belts, auxiliary conveyor means comprisingbelt rollers disposed immediately below said partition wall at spacedapart locations along said housing and journaled in said side walls, andbelts trained over said rollers and disposed in end to end relationshipwith one part of each belt disposed above said partition wall andextending along the bottom edges of the belts constituting said mainbelt conveyor, power means mounted in said housing between said bottomwall and said partition wall and drivingly connected to said beltrollers for driving said main and auxiliary conveyors, movable gatesdisposed in said housing one between each of said outlet openings andsaid belts for selectively deflecting objects from said conveyor meansthrough said outlet openings, and electrically actuated means carriedpartly by said pressure plates and connected to said gates for operatingthe latter in response to code designations on objects passing alongsaid conveyor means.

3. Mechanism for sorting mailing envelopes comprising electricallyconducting elements disposed one on each envelope at a location spacedalong one edge of the envelope a predetermined distance from a secondedge disposed at right angles to said one edge, an elongated support,conveyor means mounted on said support and including an endless belt,movable gates carried by said support at locations spaced apart alongsaid conveyor means, pressure plates disposed one between each twoadjacent gates with flat surfaces opposed to the adjacent flat surfaceof said belt and resiliently pressing envelopes against said belt withsaid one edge of each envelope extending transversely of an edge of saidbelt, and means connected to said gates and responsive to codedesignations on the envelopes passing along said conveyor means toselectively open said gates in accordance with predetermined codedesignations and discharge the envelopes from said conveyor meansincluding detectors carried one by each of said pressure plates with thedetectors on the several pressure plates disposed at differentpredetermined distances from common edges of said pressure platesparallel to the edges of said belt and each detector including a pair ofspaced apart contacts interconnected by an envelope carried elementlocated to engage the contacts of a specified detector.

4. Mechanism for sorting mailing envelopes comprising selectivelyexposable detector actuating elements spaced apart along at least twoperpendicularly related edges of each envelope, an elongated support,conveyor means mounted on said support for carrying envelopes along saidsupport with one of said two edges of each envelope extendingtransversely of the direction of travel of said conveyor means, movablegates carried by said support at locations spaced apart along saidconveyor means, detector means disposed at locations spaced apart alongsaid conveyor means and connected one to each of said gates andresponsive to the location of the actuator elements on envelopes passingalong said conveyor means to selectively open said gates in accordancewith predetermined locations of said actuator elements and dischargeenvelopes in sorted condition from said conveyor means, and meanscarried by said support at the end of a series of detector meanscorresponding in number to the number of detector actuating elementsalong said one of said two edges of an envelope effective to receiveenvelopes passing along said conveyor means, turn each envelope to aposition at which the other of said two edges thereof extendstransversely of the direction of travel of said conveyor means andreturn the envelopes to the conveyor means for movement of the envelopespast a second series of detector means.

5. Mechanism for sorting mailing envelopes comprising detector actuatingelements exposed one on each en velope at predetermined locations alongcorresponding edges of the envelopes, conveyor means having an envelopereceiving end at which envelopes are fed consecutively into saidconveyor with their edges adjacent which the corresponding actuatorelements are disposed extending transversely of the direction of travelof said conveyor means and disposed at the front ends of the envelopesin the direction of travel of the envelopes along said conveyor means,gates disposed at spaced apart locations along said conveyor means andselectively movable to deflect envelopes from said conveyor at thelocations of the selected gates, detectors disposed one between each twoadjacent gates and at difierent predetermined positions from one edge ofsaid conveyor means for selective engagement by said envelope carriedactuator elements in accordance with the positions of the elements alongthe front edges of the associated envelopes, electrically energizedmeans controlled by said detectors and selectively moving said gates inaccordance with the actuation of said detectors by said detectoractuating elements to discharge envelopes from said conveyor means in asorted condition, and a manually operated control for said conveyormeans effective to temporarily reverse the direction of operation ofsaid conveyor means to clear the sorting mechanism from a cloggedcondition.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,217,092 Hopp Feb. 20, 1917 1,573,174 Lasker Feb. 16, 19261,707,755 Bryce Apr. 2, 1929 1,997,157 Tauschek Apr. 9, 1935 2,056,382Ayres Oct. 6, 1936 2,171,556 Higginbottom et a1 Sept. 5, 1939 2,254,933Bryce Sept. 2, 1941 2,275,396 Johnson Mar. 3, 1942 2,353,061 OldenboomJuly 4, 1944 2,609,928 Doust Sept. 20, 1952

